The ups and downs, the oohs and aahs of life as a single mom to two girls...

Friday, January 12, 2007

Aah, What Have I Done?

Seemingly with a few clicks of the mouse and very little thought, I have created a blog. One of my goals for 2007 is to find more creative outlets (writing and photography), so I guess this is one giant step. I hope my ramblings will also provide a record for my daughters of their growing up years.

Our URL, aahgirls.blogspot.com, recognizes that my name, as well as that of both my daughters, end in the letter "a". It also brings to mind a very fond memory: my older daughter's first sign of affection for me, in a hotel room in Fuzhou, China, in December 1998 when she was seven months old and we had known each other for a few days, was to give wonderful sloppy kisses and then say "aah" in the sweetest voice imaginable. My younger daughter's most likely first use of the word "aah" was to say: "Aah, that's not fair!"

My older daughter, AKA Doodle on this blog, is an 8-year-old third grader. She is sweet, sensitive, and liked by everyone who meets her. She plays the piano, is a Brownie, and goes to a lot of birthday parties and play dates. It's hard to imagine my life without her because she has been a part of it for over 8 years. Doodle is the nickname that I gave her as a baby and it has stuck. Now I have to be careful not to call her that in front of her friends. She is a secure, happy kid, even if she does tend to be a worrywart. She got braces this fall and is still adjusting to life without popcorn, tortilla chips, and gummy candy. Many of her friends were jealous of her braces; one girl even puts rubber bands in her mouth to see what it's like.

My younger daughter, AKA Tootle on this blog, is a 4.5-year-old preschooler. She has a big personality and is unusually tall for a Chinese girl (off the American charts). She is a natural athlete. She started taking ice skating lessons just last week and is already gliding. She also loves soccer. Tootle is stubborn, wickedly funny, and full of life. She didn't join our family until she was almost 3 years old. A Waiting Child, she is healthy and developmentally on target or advanced. Her cleft lip was repaired in China, and her submucous cleft palate was repaired just last month. She couldn't eat solid food for three weeks, right before Christmas, and she rose to the challenge beautifully. It helps that she loves ice cream. We also discovered that she loves broccoli soup.

I work in publications for a nonprofit association. My challenge of raising two girls as a single parent is made much easier by my mom, who moved over 100 miles upon retirement to help me take care of Doodle. My friends sometimes call her Saint Nana.

I hope to post at least once a week, but inevitably life will get in the way. I'm off to pay bills and read the newspaper, something I never get to until 10 or 11 p.m.